The present invention relates to an exchangeable ink jet head cartridge and an ink jet apparatus usable with the exchangeable head cartridge, and in particular an ink jet head cartridge capable of enhancing handleability during the transportation or installation into the ink jet apparatuses, and an ink jet apparatus usable with such an ink jet head cartridge.
Recently, printers incorporating a so-called ink Jet recording system, in which ink is ejected from a recording head In response to recording signals to produce a desired print, have been put into practical use, along with office automation apparatuses comprising such a printer.
The recording head employed in the printer incorporating such an ink jet recording system can be roughly classified into a so-called permanent type recording head which is permanently mounted in the apparatus, and a so-called exchangeable type recording head which can be easily installed into, or removed from, the apparatus by an operator.
The recording head of the former type is permanently installed in the apparatus, as was proposed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 151,033/1979 or Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. 176,546/1982. The ink is supplied to the recording head by connecting the recording head to an ink container, with a tube. The ink container used in the apparatus having such a structure is of a cartridge type, which can be easily mounted in, or removed from, the apparatus.
The recording apparatus usable with the recording head of such a type can have an extremely long service life since its service life can be extended by exchanging the ink container cartridge. However, in this type of recording apparatus, the recording head and the ink cartridge are connected with a tube, which requires a space through which the tube is routed, or a space into which the ink cartridge is fitted; therefore, the apparatus size tends to become relatively large.
On the other hand, the recording head of the latter type is a combination cartridge, in which the ink container and the recording head are integrally formed, and can be easily mounted in, or removed from, the apparatus. The cartridge is exchanged with a new one when the amount of the ink in the cartridge in use comes down to a level where further consumption of the ink is impossible. This type of recording head cartridge Is easily reduced in size and cost; therefore, it is preferable for personal use.
Recently, subjects such as efficient use of natural resources or waste disposal have been attracting international attention.
In the aforementioned ink container-ink jet head combination cartridge, the elements for ejecting the ink were sufficiently durable relative to the amount of the ink containable in the ink container. In other words, the recording head portion was still in good shape even when the ink in the cartridge was exhausted. Therefore, improvement of the cartridge was considered.
For example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 39945/1990, a recording head-ink container combination cartridge is disclosed which allows the separation of the recording head portion from the ink container portion as needed. In the case of this cartridge, when the ink in the ink container portion is exhausted while a sufficient amount of service life is left in the recording head portion, only the ink container portion need be exchanged: when the service life of the recording head portion ends, only the recording head portion need be exchanged if the ink is still in the ink container portion, and both can be exchanged if the ink happens to be out at the same time.
The recording head portion and the ink container portion in the recording head-ink container combination cartridge having such a structure are extremely small, in consideration of the cartridge size; therefore, when they are separated from each other, their extremely small sizes reduce handling efficiency when they are installed into, or removed from, the apparatus, or when a new recording head portion or new ink container portion is taken out of a shipment package.
The recording head portion comprises electrodes, which constitute portions of the transmission passages for recording signals. When these electrodes are mistakenly touched, unexpected problems may arise.
Further, when the separable recording head portion and the separable ink container portion are stored in the same shipment container during the merchandise distribution, the evaporative components of the ink in the ink container changes the ambience within the shipment container into a highly humid one, which adversely affects the electrodes of the recording head portion, or the flexible cable, deteriorating the recording head performance.
In addition, when the recording head portion and the ink container portion are designed to be separable, the size of each portion becomes rather small, and having the small size reduces the handleability of each portion during the manufacturing, or tends to trigger unintentional operator mistakes such as touching the electrodes of the recording head portion.
Accordingly, the present invention was made to eliminate such problems. Hence, the primary object of the present invention is to provide an ink jet head cartridge comprising a recording head portion and an ink container portion which offer better handleability while being separated from each other, and the critical areas of which, such as the electrodes or ejection orifices, are well protected from unintentional touching by a handler, improving the reliability, and to provide an ink jet apparatus comprising such a cartridge.
The inventors of the present invention came to realize after the intensive studies for solving the above described problems, that packaging separately the recording head portion and the ink container portion, and the provision of a dedicated structure for improving the handleability of the recording head portion and the ink container portion, would improve the handleability of the recording head portion and the ink container portion, and also, would guarantee their reliability.
The present invention has been made based on the above finding, and is embodied as an ink jet head cartridge comprising a recording bead portion and an ink container portion which are separable from each other; are separately shipped; and are integrated with each other as they are mounted in an recording apparatus, for a printing operation, wherein said recording head portion is provided with a structural member for improving the handleability of said recording head portion when said recording head portion and ink container portion are separately shipped and transported (before use for recording).
Also, the present invention is embodied as an ink jet apparatus comprising a carriage member for mounting an ink jet head cartridge comprising a recording head portion and an ink container portion which are separable from each other; are separately shipped; and are integrated with each other as they are mounted in a recording apparatus for a printing operation, wherein said carriage comprises an operational member for mounting or removing said recording head portion, and said operational member is provided with an area for pressing down, from above, a tag-like structural member provided on said recording head portion for improving the handleability.
Further, according to an aspect of the present invention, the recording head portion is provided with a structural member dedicated to improving the handleability, wherein handling the recording head portion by this dedicated structural member can prevent the electrode portion or the ejection orifice portion from being mistakenly touched.
According to another aspect of the present invention, the orientation of the recording head portion becomes consistent, which affords more reliable handling of the recording head portion.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, the evaporative ink components, which deteriorate the reliability of the recording head portion, are rarely allowed to evaporate during transportation.